Adaptive Survey System for Hierarchical Resource Allocation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Large organizations face challenges in determining the hierarchical breakdown of work and resource allocation across departments due to the limitations of existing survey systems, which fail to provide sufficient granularity and connection between projects, leading to inefficient resource management.
Innovation Solution
An adaptive survey process that operates multi-phased or staggered, using responses from previous phases to prompt users and connect their work, providing context-specific information and allowing for automatic linking of projects, enabling management to reallocate resources effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a traditional survey system is used to track projects and employees in large organizations, then the system can report lists of projects and employees working on them, but it cannot provide hierarchical context or show relationships between projects
Solution Approach 1:
The survey system is divided into multiple phases corresponding to different hierarchical levels of the organization. Each phase surveys a specific level (e.g., executives, department heads, managers, individual contributors) and uses responses from previous phases to contextualize subsequent responses. This segmentation allows the system to capture hierarchical context without requiring a single complex survey instrument.
Solution Approach 2:
The survey process performs preliminary actions by first surveying higher-level respondents to establish project hierarchies and relationships before surveying lower-level respondents. Responses from upper levels are used to pre-populate and contextualize surveys for lower levels, ensuring that hierarchical context is captured before it is needed for analysis.
2Productivity
If existing survey programs survey all employees about projects, then management can track projects and employees, but they cannot control workload or resources for the projects
Solution Approach 1:
The survey system dynamically adapts the survey content and questions based on responses from previous phases and the respondent's position in the hierarchy. Lower-level respondents see pre-populated project lists from upper-level respondents and can indicate their involvement, while upper-level respondents see aggregated data from lower levels. This dynamic adaptation enables precise workload measurement and resource control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops where responses from each hierarchical level are immediately used to inform and contextualize surveys for the next level. This feedback mechanism ensures that workload and resource information flows bidirectionally through the hierarchy, enabling management to accurately assess and control resource allocation while maintaining measurement precision.
3Measurement precision
If a multi-phased survey is conducted to capture hierarchical context, then higher granularity reporting is achieved, but the survey process becomes more complex to implement
Solution Approach 1:
The survey system uses a nested structure where each phase is contained within the broader organizational hierarchy. Surveys for lower levels are nested within the context established by upper levels, with project lists and hierarchical relationships nested from one phase to the next. This nesting approach achieves high reporting granularity while managing implementation complexity through a structured, repeatable process.
Solution Approach 2:
The survey system is designed as a universal platform that can be applied to any hierarchical organization regardless of size or structure. The same multi-phased approach works for different organizational levels and types, making the system multi-functional and adaptable. This universality reduces implementation complexity by providing a standardized framework that can be customized to specific organizational needs rather than requiring custom solutions for each case.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for conducting an adaptive survey. The method includes transmitting a first survey to a primary respondent; receiving responses to the first survey from the primary respondent; transmitting a subsequent survey to secondary respondents, the subsequent survey including answers provided in the first survey; and receiving responses to the subsequent survey from the secondary respondents.